Anyone ever do "open source" spirit training video?

[Soybomb]

I was sitting here pondering...being the IT guy that I am I was thinking about training and open source/intellectual property law. I've seen a ton of different places offer training dvds and the like for sale. I'd like to check some out, but we're talking something that quite expensive on a per hour basis, and often there is little or not preview available. I honestly don't know what I'm getting or from who. As a result, I wind up buying none.

I'd love to see some of the training groups/people consider more progressive distribution ideas. Instead of the typical copyright perhaps release a dvd under the Creative Commons license. http://creativecommons.org/ With this license you could keep ownership of the material, but allow others to freely distibute and copy it provided they give you credit. You can also set stipulations such as if you'll allow or disallow commerial use of your work, and if it can be modified and reused or not.

You're probably thinking why would you give away a video for free? I think it would be a fantastic way to get people hooked on your material and get them to buy more. There is a surprising amount of content released in this fashion today that does quite well http://www.abc.net.au/news/arts/articulate/200604/s1616389.htm Personally I think showing the new people such as myself an indepth look at what you have to offer is going to make them less hesitant to drive and take your weekend class, or buy your advanced topics dvd.

Cost is really nothing, there are several ways to distribute large files such as a dvd's worth of video on the internet today cost free. Most noteable you'd probably use bittorrent where the users will be the ones supporting the file and uploading it to each other.

I typically don't think the gun business is all that interested in tech or the social issues that tech people like myself are concerned with but I thought I'd point out a potential method to reach a new audience that no one in this area seems to be taking advantage of. If you produce such videos and have questions, feel free to ask.

 

[orangeninja]

So are you talking about an Open Source Defensive Tactics/Gun training video?

 

[Soybomb]

Not really open source as there is no source so to speak, more calling people that produce those things to examine the internet and how it can be used to distribute intellectual property and build a larger happier customer base.

The traditional copyright people use and think of is very restrictive in that it prevents redistribution, you must pay to copy it, every one that watches it must pay for it, etc. What we've seen with napster, peer to peer file sharing, books like cory doctrow's mentioned in the link above, the apple itunes store, podcasts, etc is that more free accessible content doesn't deter people from buying, perhaps quite the opposite. How many people buy music either in the store or from itunes from artists now they would never have heard if it hadn't been for getting a legal or illegal mp3? Who here knows how to use photoshop and thinks of it as the king of image manipulation despite most people probably not paying for it?

So I'm not saying open source in that there is a massive community collaboration project, although that would be cool too, but more alternative copyright, free distribution material. Give me 45 minutes of video showing some basics that I can watch and see why I like you as an instructor, why you're a mall-ninja, where I can compare to someone else's tapes, that will make me want to buy more of your dvds or attend your training classes in person, that I can also send to friends getting started and say look at everything this guy can teach you in 45 minutes, imagine what you'll pickup from the advanced classes - this is why you need training.

This is quite long and rambling really. The short of it is quit being like the riaa and mpaa and try using the internet in more modern ways than just having a webpage to get your products moving. Make your niche bigger.